December 2020 Newsletter

​Some years ago, possibly during a previous administration, I put 25 yards of 16/2 cotton at 60 epi on my big loom with the Drawloom attachment and 20 pattern shafts. It is a magical loom, and I love it, but it does not weave itself. Last week, I finished that warp! It will get a new warp in December, or maybe January, but for now I have draped it with colored twinkle lights for some winter cheer and I’m letting the sock monkeys play on it. This warp produced numerous quirky Damask tea towel experiments including birds, flowers, little dogs, and a copy of a Swedish ladybug design. I worked these designs out on graph paper, because, although I look up weaving drafts and project ideas on the internet, I still don’t have weaving software. Pencil, graph paper, and a big eraser from the art supply store. At some point, I will take the plunge into the advantages of weaving software, (this will require a new computer) but for now I have everything I need, even if it is slower and a bit messier.

This year I broke my own rule about not decorating the house before Thanksgiving. A pandemic calls for extra measures. Colored twinkle lights on the porch in early November. LED lights, so they can be left on 24/7 without running up the electric bill. I also made molasses sandwich cookies with cream cheese frosting. Weaving patterns aren’t the recipes you can find on the internet.

Our Zoom meetings and programs continue, with popular approval! A first for me this month has been taking a weaving workshop online! Laverne Waddington’s Andean Pebble Weave Pick-up on Inkle Loom workshop was awesome! I didn’t think I would be able to do it, and I can. Laverne sent out handouts ahead of time, we pre-warped our looms, and she went through the techniques step by step, on Zoom – with video slides and in person instruction. This works. Our Zoom visit to the Ikat workshops in Uzbekistan in November was beyond inspiring.

I am grateful for the roof over my head, friends and loved ones staying sensibly safe, plenty of string waiting to be transformed. As we head into the darkening winter, I am also thinking of those in need. I am embarassed to realize that our Guild “Snow Cap” project had fallen below my radar in the pandemic. There is plenty of need, and plenty of time before spring, to make use of the extra odd bits of yarn and keep hands busy making scarves and hats for folks who need them. Read the announcement in this newsletter for where to drop off contributions for local distribution. Need yarn – or have too much? Ragfinery is open again, by appointment only for drop off, and socially distant shopping! Or list your fiber-related extra stuff in the WWG Newsletter Classifieds. My “extra” 8-shaft table loom found a good home with a new weaver, who is now a new member of our Guild!

And finally, believe it or not, spring may be sleeping but it will soon be on its way! Neighbor Joan was out planting last-minute daffodil bulbs this morning. Wendy saved seeds from her gorgeous fluffy Salmon pink poppies to sprinkle in late fall, for blooms next year. Mine are spread in the garden now, and I still have more, if you would like some!

Hoping you are warm and safe, with just enough of everything you need, 


Carol Berry
2019-2020 WWG President

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